Part Four: When Reports Rewrite Your Reality There’s a moment that hits harder than most in this system — and it’s not always the courtroom or the meetings. Sometimes, it’s seeing your life described in black and white on a piece of paper… and not recognising yourself in it. Reports are supposed to reflect facts.… Continue reading 4: Degrees Don’t Equal Experience: A Parent’s Perspective
Author: TheGirlSpeaks
3: Degrees Don’t Equal Experience: A Parent’s Perspective
Part Three: The Power Imbalance in the Room There’s a particular kind of silence that fills the room when you’re a parent sitting across from professionals. It’s not just quiet — it’s heavy. Like you’ve walked into a place where your voice is already smaller before you’ve even opened your mouth. Case conferences. Core group… Continue reading 3: Degrees Don’t Equal Experience: A Parent’s Perspective
The Silent Partner
When I first created The Girl Speaks, it was my voice — my story — my fight.But behind me, there has always been another heart breaking too.My husband.He did not live the life I lived. He didn't grow up with a system of broken promises.He believed, at first, that the authorities were there to help.… Continue reading The Silent Partner
Forced Adoption: The Hidden Truth Behind a Silent Grief
Before You Read My StoryThis is not a story that can be told in one post.This is the beginning of a series speaking the truths they tried to bury — about forced adoption, its silent victims, and the grief that refuses to stay hidden. Forced adoption isn’t just something from history books.It’s not a thing… Continue reading Forced Adoption: The Hidden Truth Behind a Silent Grief
2. Degrees Don’t Equal Experience: A Parent’s Perspective
Part Two: Parenting Under Surveillance From the outside, parenting is supposed to be a natural thing — built on love, instincts, trial and error. But when you're parenting under the gaze of the system, it doesn't feel natural at all. It feels like performance. Every word you say, every move you make, even how your… Continue reading 2. Degrees Don’t Equal Experience: A Parent’s Perspective
Visual Reflections
Visual Reflections — A New Page on the Site There are some things words can’t fully hold.Moments, emotions, memories — too heavy, too quiet, or too old to name out loud. For a long time, I used imagery to say what I couldn’t speak.On TikTok, I shared quote-based images — small fragments of truth and… Continue reading Visual Reflections
We Were Asking for Help — Not to Be Blamed
For years, we screamed out for help. We begged for support for our son — a little boy with needs that we couldn’t meet on our own. We talked to professionals, asked questions, knocked on every door. But no one really listened. Instead, we watched his world unravel right in front of us. He was… Continue reading We Were Asking for Help — Not to Be Blamed
1. Degrees Don’t Equal Experience: A Parent’s Perspective
Part One: The Degree vs. The Experience Just because someone holds a degree, doesn’t mean they hold the experience. This thought has been sitting with me for a long time, especially as I navigate the system that has had such a deep impact on my family — the social care system. I want to be… Continue reading 1. Degrees Don’t Equal Experience: A Parent’s Perspective
Standing in the Storm – Finding Strength Through Faith
There hasn’t been a time in my life when I haven’t been tangled up with social services or the family courts. It’s like a shadow that never leaves—always there, always watching, always controlling. Just when you think you’ve escaped, they find another way to pull you back in.I’ve seen the darkest corners of myself during… Continue reading Standing in the Storm – Finding Strength Through Faith
Behind Closed Doors: The Silence That Speaks Louder
When people speak about social services, the narrative is rarely simple. It swings between outrage and relief, trauma and transformation. For some families, intervention marks the beginning of healing. For others, it’s the start of a long and painful journey. What’s often overlooked, though, is that even in the rare instances where support leads to… Continue reading Behind Closed Doors: The Silence That Speaks Louder
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